NFL Recent Player News

Analysis: With Ryan Shazier's career in jeopardy due to a spinal injury, the Steelers were in need of an experienced inside linebacker and Bostic fits the bill. The 26-year-old started 14 games for the Colts last season, recording a career-high 97 tackles along with one sack.

Analysis: Sturgis spent the past three seasons with Philadelphia, but he missed the Eagles' Super Bowl championship run. After winning the starting job, he injured his hip in the regular season opener and went on injured reserve. The University of Florida product spent his first two NFL seasons with Miami. He was outstanding for the Eagles in 2016, hitting 35 of his 41 field goal attempts.

Fuller has signed an offer sheet with the Green Bay Packers, according to multiple media outlets, and the Chicago Bears must decide whether to match the offer to retain Fuller. The Bears put the transition tag on Fuller earlier this month with a one-year salary of $12.9 million. That gives the Bears the right to match any offer Fuller gets, and the Bears have five days to make that decision.

Analysis: Fuller has been a starter in all three of his seasons with the Bears and has eight career interceptions. That includes two picks he made while starting all 16 games in 2017.

Burfict is appealing a four-game suspension from the NFL for violating its policy on performance-enhancing substances, the third straight season that he's facing punishment from the league.

Analysis: Burfict was suspended for the first three games of the 2016 season in response to his hit on Pittsburgh's Antonio Brown during the playoffs and his history of egregious conduct. He got another three-game suspension to start last season after his egregious hit on Kansas City running back Anthony Sherman during a preseason game.

Analysis: Richardson, the 13th overall pick out of Missouri in 2013 by the Jets, had one sack and 27 tackles last season for Seattle. He spent his first four seasons with New York. Richardson has 286 tackles and 19 sacks in his career. He also has had off-field issues. Richardson served a four-game ban in 2015 for violating the NFL's substance abuse policy. He was also suspended for the 2016 season opener for an arrest in Missouri for driving at high speeds and resisting arrest.

The New York Jets have signed Johnson to a five-year, $72.5 million contract.

Analysis: Johnson, arguably the top free agent at his position, spent his first six seasons with the Rams and had 18 interceptions while establishing himself as one of the best cover cornerbacks in the NFL.

3/16/2018

Karl Klug, Ten, DT

The Tennessee Titans say they are releasing Klug after seven years with the franchise.

Analysis: A fifth-round pick in 2011 out of Iowa, Klug started eight of his 109 games played for the Titans. Klug had 178 tackles, 21 1/2 sacks, 67 quarterback pressures and forced five fumbles. He returned a recovered fumble for a touchdown in 2013 against the Jets. Klug had 26 tackles and 1 1/2 sacks in 15 games last season in his return from a torn Achilles tendon at the end of the 2016 season.

3/16/2018

Ryan Grant, Was, WR

Grant failed his physical with the Ravens on Friday.

Analysis: Baltimore GM Ozzie Newsome said he withdrew Grant's four-year contract offer following the exam and after consulting with team doctors and outside physicians. "That's not a football decision," Newsome said Friday. "That's a medical condition that I have no control over." Though Grant never missed a game in his four years with the Redskins, Newsome said the physical found an issue with his ankle.

A person familiar with the situation says the Carolina Panthers and Poe have agreed on a three-year, $28 million deal. The person spoke to The Associated Press Thursday on condition of anonymity because the Panthers have not announced the move.

Analysis: The 27-year-old Poe played five seasons for the Kansas City Chiefs and went to two Pro Bowls after being selected with the 11th overall pick in the NFL draft in 2012. Poe spent last season with the Falcons and played in 16 games and had 39 tackles, 2 1/2 sacks and two passes defensed. The 6-foot-3, 346-pound Poe is considered a "space eater" who'll take the place of Star Lotulelei, who signed on Wednesday with the Buffalo Bills.

The McCourty twins are back together. The Cleveland Browns traded Jason McCourty to the New England Patriots on Thursday, reuniting him with his brother, Devin. The Browns also sent a seventh-round pick to the Patriots to get a sixth-rounder in return.

Analysis: Jason McCourty, 30, spent one season in Cleveland after eight with Tennessee. He started 14 games and led the Browns with three interceptions and made 65 tackles, the most for any player in the secondary. Devin McCourty has spent all eight years of his NFL career with the Patriots.

The Miami Dolphins acquired Kilgore in a trade Thursday with San Francisco and released three-time Pro Bowl center Mike Pouncey.

Analysis: Kilgore is a seven-year veteran who started all 16 games for the 49ers in 2017. Last month they signed him to an $11.78 million, three-year contract extension, but he became expendable when the team signed free agent center Weston Richburg to a $47.5 million, five-year deal this week.

3/15/2018

Mike Pouncey, Mia, C

The Miami Dolphins have released Pouncey.

Analysis: Pouncey, a three-time Pro Bowl center, has been plagued by serious problems with both hips, and at one time said he feared the issue might be career-ending. But last season he played in all 16 games for the first time since 2012.

The Washington Redskins have the continuity at quarterback they've wanted by signing Smith to a four-year contract extension. Smith was already signed at a salary-cap hit of $17 million for next season. His new agreement agreed to in January and signed Thursday that's worth $94 million with $71 million guaranteed means he's under contract through 2022.

Analysis: The former Kansas City Chiefs quarterback turns 34 in May and will be entering his 13th NFL season. Smith replaces Kirk Cousins as the Redskins' starting quarterback after that relationship ended following six turbulent years. To acquire Smith, the Redskins sent a 2018 third-round pick and promising young cornerback Kendall Fuller to the Chiefs in a trade that became official Wednesday.

Analysis: Richardson had 95 catches for 1,302 yards and eight touchdowns in four seasons with the Seahawks after they drafted him in the second round in 2014. The 25-year-old had 44 receptions for 703 yards and six touchdowns last season.